Support to Anti-Corruption Efforts in Kosovo

In December, we launched a survey report shedding new light on how corruption affects women and men in civil service in Kosovo*.

We were struck by one of the key results: the positive correlation between higher representation of men in decision-making institutions and higher levels of corruption.

Are women just less corrupt than men?

Through our modest contribution to the recent anti-corruption scholarship, our work has assisted to

Identify gender corruption risks and vulnerabilities for women and men Provide insight on whether women are more or less corruptible than men Initiate discussion on whether the promotion of women in public institutions can be an effective anti-corruption strategy Results reveal gendered differences impacting corruption:

Women are more aware of the prevalence of corruption in the civil service in Kosovo then men Men are more likely to believe that “men are braver and therefore more prone to corruption” Women are more likely to believe that men are more prone to corruption since “women are more honest” The research has also found positive trends in the civil administration in regard to accessibility of training and advancement opportunities for both women and men.

However, the research also reveals the existing gender stereotypes towards women in public life.

It highlights the hypothesis that women are more risk averse due to their traditional role in society as caretakers of the family.

It also confirms the assumptions that women are more aware of what corruption entails (81 percent) in comparison to their male counterparts (55 percent).

Tackling the gendered effects of corruption: The way forward

There has not been enough done to make programme design practices gender sensitive. What we need are more gender-aware anti-corruption projects.

“Nepotism is key barrier to participation of women in public service,” said Vjosa Osmani, a Member of Parliament.

Whereas, Shpend Ahmeti, Mayor of Prishtina, stated that he personally “encourages women members of the staff to consider leadership positions despite their hesitation to apply for such positions.”

To simplify the findings and make them available to everyone, over the course of two weekends, Open Data Kosovo ran data visualization workshops with Girls Coding Kosova.

During the workshop, young women studying computer science used their digital skills to help us process and visualize gender and corruption survey data in meaningful way.

Check out what they developed: http://opendatakosovo.org/app/gender-corruption-survey.

What do you think: Are men more prone to corruption than women?